Post-op

Matt had his gall bladder out on Monday (full of stones, but no one knew that until it was out!), and I just can't keep his coming-out-of-anesthesia loopiness to myself. I wrote the quotes at the time through hysterical laughter and nervous tears since he was SO out of it. Our only regret is that we didn't video any of the fun!

This is more or less the way that first little while out of surgery went:

Nurse: "Matt, are you feeling nauseous?"
Matt: (furrowed eyebrows, clearly confused) "I don't know. Are you feeling nauseous?"
Then he noticed me. "How long was it?"
Brittany: "The surgery? From the time I left you until this minute was an hour and a half."
M: "Not 15 minutes? So we had a bad doctor? I want apple juice."
B: "I don't think you can have any yet. Do you want some water?"
M: "I want apple juice, Shaun the Sheep, and the iPad."
B: (laughing, since these are the items Caleb requests every morning when he wakes up) "Do you know who else likes those things?"
M: "YOU?!"
B: "Nope, Caleb."
M: "Caleb who?"
B: "Caleb our son."
M: "Oh, where is he?"
B: "At our house, with your mom."
M: "I want apple juice."
B: "I think you have to wait for that. Do you want some water?"
M: "If it has apples in it!"

I got him some apple juice.

M: "I want to cough, but I think it'll hurt. Why don't you cough?"
B: cough cough "Did that help?"
M: "No. My feet are sweaty."
B: "Let me take your socks off."
M: "Well now they're cold. Did you say they gave me some pain medicine?"
B: "Yeah, morphine."
M: "Did you get some morphine?"
B: "Nope, I wish!"
M: "Where are our kids?"
B: "With your mom, at our house."
M: "Do I have to have this thing on?" (shaking the oxygen monitor on his finger)
B: "Yeah, I think we better leave it on."
M: "It's bugging me. Can I move it?"
B: "To where?"
M: "To you?"
B: "No, I think it better stay on you."
M: "How long was it?"
B: "An hour and a half."
M: "Did you say she gave me some medicine?"
B: "Yeah, a couple of times now."
M: "I don't believe it. Not for one second. He wasn't kidding when he said this would hurt."

The nurse said he could have some oral pain meds if he could keep down some food.

Nurse: "So, what can I get you? Crackers, applesauce...?"
M: "I guess I can't have a double cheeseburger?"
N: "No. I'll bring applesauce and crackers."

After one cracker Matt wanted some oral meds. The nurse said he couldn't have any until the applesauce was gone.

M: "She is a hard taskmaster."
B: (Spoonfeeding applesauce) "Two more bites."
M: "You said two bites like nine million bites ago!"
B: "There, done."
M: "Where'd my socks go?"
B: "I took them off. You want 'em back on?"
M: "No. But I am done with this thing." (shaking the offending oxygen monitor again) "Who do I see about getting this thing off? Can I put it on you?"
B: "No I think we better leave it."
M: "How many stones?"
B: "I can see a dozen in the picture."
M: (Looking at the picture of his gall bladder on a tray) "That is yucky. Those stones are GROSS."

Nurse came in with some Lortab.

Nurse: "How's your pain now, on a scale of 1 - 10?"
M: "I've never had a broken femur before. How long was the surgery?"
B: "An hour and a half."
M: "How many stones?"
B: "A dozen."
M: "That is so yucky."

There was a lot more asking about the kids, the length of the surgery, the oxygen monitor, and complaining about the yucky stones. Thankfully, that stuff wears off, and he's recovering nicely. The pain has been getting a little better each day, and he's still planning on teaching starting Tuesday, even. Thanks to all for your prayers and concern.

T-bag

He's four now, and the quotes are just getting better.

Truman on his fourth birthday, which we spent at Matt's parents' cabin up Logan Canyon.
This shot is from Tony Grove.

This boy...

...thinks he is so smart when he saves time by washing his hands before he goes to the bathroom. (He gets mad when he has to wash them again after!)

...likes to sing the words "rock, paper, scissors" to the hymns in church.

...is convinced that the "sprinkles" on his feet (wrinkles) make him itch.

...tells inventive stories. Most recently, he came home from school on his motorcycle to find that Mommy and Daddy were gone getting married at the temple. Then Daddy skipped work to go on a mission.

...insists on eating grapes with no holes in them. (!)

And as for quotes:

OUCH.
Mommy asked, "Am I losing my mind?!" Truman answered, "What mind?"

"Mom, but you have such a big bum."

"I sure wish Grandma Jill was my mom."

"Mommy, when are you gonna go home?"
"Home where?"
"Home to the zoo, cuz that's where you live!"

Thinking about the future
"I think I want Daddy to stay a dad and I will grow up to be a Grandpa instead."

"Mom, when is Earth gonna get old?" (EVERY night before bed. Who even put this thought into his head?!)

"I want to be a daddy and a grandpa and a missionary and a fireman and a policeman. Police is last cuz I want to be a policeman forever."

On good vs evil
"I wish bad guys didn't have any bums!"

"Mom, a bad guy named Magic Man turned you into a bird. I'm pretending that."

When Daddy told Truman he was killing ants by coloring on them with sidewalk chalk, he said, "Well, that's just the way I hath to do it."

"I'm Iron Man! I just ironed that dragon's head off and its wings!"

"Why is that police car going so fast?"
"Maybe to catch a bad guy."
"Like a bad guy who kills fish?" Then, "[GASP!] Are there bad guys on earth?"

Wonderings...
"Mom, when you eat the fudgsicle and it breaks into pieces in your tummy, does it fall on the baby's head?"

"Jordan, why are YOU driving? Why isn't Carly driving? Is it because she's not a very good driver?"

At the end of Land Before Time: "So...are they gonna turn to humans now?"

Outta NOWHERE
"Mom, baseball players don't. Have. Phones. Cuz they just play baseball."

When Mommy told Truman to count sheep to help him get to sleep, he said, "Yes, and then the kangaroo will jump out and scare the sheep!"

Holding Mommy's hair straight out to the sides of her head:
"Mommy, you're turning into an animal."
"What kind?"
"A bat."

Grab bag
"Number one: I run. Number two: I run fast. Number three: I run into you. Those are the clues."

Complaining about bumpy roads on the way home from Logan: "Stop it! Stop shaking my ears!"

We're having a...

...third boy! Matt is thrilled to pieces, as he is the third in a line of three boys himself and, after all, what would his older brothers be without him?

Truman is unsurprised, since he's been telling me this baby was a boy for months now. "Mom, I don't want any sisters." Fair enough.

The tricky part? Naming the new little guy. Suggestions will be welcomed.

The big 5

It was our anniversary last week.

5 years.
4 moves.
3 kids (well, almost - #3 coming December 1st!).
2 lovebirds.
1 blissful marriage.

Okay, the truth is I wanted you to think this post was about something completely different than the fact that we're having a baby, but there you have it.

And to be fair, I do have a blissful marriage that I have thoroughly enjoyed for the last five years. Here's to many, many more.

Payoffs Part III

Before we get to Truman's latest zaniness, here is the promised pic of my first-ever sewing project. Did I take a 'before' shot? No. Just imagine peeling black vinyl (?) on a recliner. You can also imagine how black would make the walls look gray instead of sage - I think the floral really warms up the room.

As for T-Biscuit...

On guns:
I told Truman about the game Chutes and Ladders, and a few minutes later he asked if we could play "that game Ladders and Guns."

After the military salute (read: guns being shot) at Grandpa's gravesite, TERRIFIED: "Why did they shoot him? Are they gonna shoot him again?!"

Important questions:
Sucking nitrous oxide at the dentist: "Mommy, I'm flying. Are you flying with me?"

"What is my friends made out of? Fingers and hair and shirts, just like me?"

One Sunday morning: "Daddy, why do you have to go to meetings and meetings and meetings?"

"Why am I asking 'why' all the time?"

Clearly, he's missed something:
"Mom, we're on a date. That's where you go to the top of a mountain and look for a big, big, big, big, big, big pool."

Looking at the 'wedding wall' of newlywed photos at Grandma Patti's, he counted "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...(pause)...mmmmmissionaries and princesses!"

During a guessing game, Truman knew that Uncle Jordan was thinking of a big cat with hair around its face, that roars. Jordan tried to help Truman with "A li..." and the boy shouted, "A LIAR!"

Explaining traffic lights to his Hot Wheels: "This light means you hath to stop. And this one means you hath to go super fast cuz the light is gonna turn red. And this one means you hath to go swimming."

"Mom, can we go to B.O.?" "Um, you mean DI?"

On growing up:
"Look how tall I am! Soon I'm gonna be a missionary!"

"When you were a little girl, did you throw snowballs at your mom?" "No, I wouldn't do that." "I would! I would throw snowballs at your mom!"

When Daddy asked if Truman was going to stay in his bed all night long, he replied, "I'm still learning. Maybe when I'm 17 I could stay in my own bed."

On gender confusion:
"Mommy, kiss me and I will turn into a princess."

Truman's superpowers, according to him, are "making stuffed animals, books, and flowers, and putting water on buildings so they can grow."

Standing on the arm of the couch: "I am Mrs. Queen of the Mountain!"

Daily life:
Looking at a family picture: "Mommy, you're not mean to me in this picture. But you're mean when you're a real mommy."

While Mommy was changing Caleb's diaper: "EW! It looks like chocolate, but it's poo!"

From the back seat of the car: "Keep it down, you guys! I'm trying to pull my socks up to my knees!"

Wearing Mommy's glasses, looking in the mirror: "I look like someone who doesn't know me!"

Truman wouldn't talk to anyone at a wedding reception one night. Later, when we asked why, we were told, "They had feet sticking out of their pants and I didn't want to see their legs!"

So much...

...has changed since my last post. Sure, it's been almost three months, but still, we're talking CHANGED.

First and foremost, three people I love have recently been diagnosed or resumed their battles with cancer: my sister-in-law, my nephew, and a good friend in my ward.

My prayers have become a lot more heartfelt, for obvious reasons.

Truman is now, erm, closer to being potty-trained than he was three months ago. It's kind of a two-steps-forward, one-step-back kind of thing.

As of last post, Caleb was taking a few steps. Now the child runs away from me (gleefully, I might add) at the mention of the words "diaper change" or "bedtime."

We own a van now. Two kids, a mortgage, and a minivan = real-life boring adults. (Just kidding, our swagger wagon is sweeeeet.)

I started sewing...sort of. This is a big step for me. I made a slipcover for the recliner in Caleb's room which was, in Matt's words, an 'ambitious' first sewing project. Indeed. I ripped out a lot of seams and probably could have spent a couple [dozen] more hours on it, but it turned out pretty well. I'll post pics (maybe) when Matt brings the camera home. I've also shortened a skirt, hemmed a pair of pants, and mended a couple of Matt's suits. At this point, I would have no idea where to begin if someone put a pattern in my hands!

I guess the only constant thing in life is change. And that Truman is bound to say outlandish and wacky things. Stay tuned for some more gems from him, coming soon.

Stats

Between the hours of 9 am and 2 pm last Thursday, Truman asked me "why?" 68 times.

Caleb takes a few steps at a time now, with the current record holding steady at 7.

Truman has tipped over the Christmas tree twice this season.

I have found Caleb standing on top of the toilet seat three times in the last few days. (The kid can climb!)

The earliest that Truman has woken me up this week asking for his chocolate (the little waxy kind that comes out of the advent calendar) is 5:23 am. Let me tell you how long the day gets when the boy is asking every three minutes or so from 5:23 am whether it's the next day yet so he can have his next chocolate...

Caleb has tried four times in the last hour to wake up a sleeping Truman on the couch (mostly by sticking his finger up Truman's nose). And given the wailing coming from upstairs, I guess he finally succeeded.